A Lost Soul
by The Green Vigilant
Summary: Beings without companions are lost, unable to adapt at being alone. Follow the experience of a person, who witnessed the consequences of such a disaster.


**(hello there once again peeps, and welcome back. Since halloween is upon us, I decided that there should be a halloween special today, so here it is. Now sit back and enjoy the ride. GV out 7o)**

The cold wind brushed our faces as we walked towards our destination, making us shiver. It was only me and my friend who are coming to explore a certain place. But so far, we were treading through a once lush forest, but now barren, which marks the end of fall. Bare branches were exposed in the cold night, tugging at our outfits as we traveled. The dead leaves scattered all over the forest floor crunched with every footstep.

As we walked for nearly an hour since we started, the coldness slowly grew more intense. Another gust of wind sent chills across our bodies, despite several layers of clothing covering us.

"Burr..." my friend, Mike, shivered. "Damn cold. It's not even winter yet, and it certainly feels like it. Global warming my ass."

I laughed, and Mike responded by shoving me with his elbow, nearly knocking me off balance. "Whoa!" I exclaimed. "Easy there, bud. Didn't know you're sensitive to cold things."

Mike laughed himself, and patted my shoulder. "Very funny, Daniel." He said, swinging a sledgehammer with one arm. "Just don't come running to daddy when you're too scared to go inside where we're heading to."

I slowed down a bit, partially forgetting something. "Remind me, where are we heading again."

Mike shook his head. "Tsk tsk. Really, mate? We're defying stereotypes here. I mean, I'm supposed to be the brute, and you the brains, but alright. Hear me out this time okay?" I nodded as he continued. "We're paying a visit to an old, abandoned mansion."

I nodded again. "Yes, how long was it like that... um I think it's been eighteen years now?"

"Aye, but I think it's older." Mike replied. "Maybe twenty or so, but that doesn't matter very much. What I do like about it is the atmosphere. Creepy feeling folk say when visiting there. Dunno what they think are causing it. Probably just nothing."

"Had anybody gone inside?" I asked curiously.

Mike should his head. "Not that I know of. Doors are barricaded. Which is why I brought this little toy over here." He swung his sledgehammer again, which kicked some leaves and dirt. "We'll be the first ones to see what's inside, and have some fun at the same time."

"Ah, I got it. Thanks for reminding me." I said, feeling confident.

As we continued walking for roughly ten minutes, we spotted what we are looking for: a large, wooden mansion. Mike held an arm in front of me, forcing me to stop.

"See that mansion over there? That's our destination." He said. I nodded.

The mansion was two stories high. Based on the appearance of the building, it was clear that it was abandoned for some time. The wood was starting to rot. Cracks covered the structure. The windows were barricaded with wooden bars. Parts of the roof seems to be collapsing. The edges of the mansion was covered with branches from surrounding trees. The walkway was cracked, with dense bushes and weeds growing between the cracks. All those features gave the building an eerie, dark appearance, which the moonlight from the full moon under the clear night sky only strengthened that statement.

"Yo, Daniel. You alright, bud?" Mike asked jokingly, giving me a light stab in the shoulder with his fist. I flinched at his touch, which made him laugh.

"Yeah, yeah..." I replied, a little nervous. "It's just... I don't like the look of it. And you? Are you afraid?"

"Haha, nah." Mike puffed out his chest. "I ain't afraid of anything. The way I see it, I only see an adventure. I mean, look at this. We're probably the first to enter this husk of a mansion. Now ain't that an achievement."

I nodded, encouraged. "Yeah, you're probably right. Ain't nothing in there than can hurt us."

Mike walked ahead, and motioned me to follow him. "Well, come over here. Standing around ain't going to get us inside." I sighed, and followed him. After treading through some thick weeds and bushes, we arrived at the front door. The door itself was barricaded with the same wooden bars that barricaded the windows. Mike examined the wood, touching it. After a minute of examining, he nodded, and prepared his sledgehammer.

"Door's weak. She'll have no problem breaking it down." He said, as he swung the hammer, slamming into the bars, and causing most of them to shatter into pieces. After that, he gave it another swing, this time, all the bars have been reduced into pieces, and the door itself was folding inwards. "Ugh... one more time." Mike said, mostly to himself. As he gave one final swing, the door finally gave way, and shattered into two pieces. Both pieces fell inside, kicking up a bit of dust and dirt as they hit the floor. Mike looked back at me, and grinned.

"There we go. Did the job well." I commented. Mike laughed.

"And now we have access to this rotting tree." Mike walked inside. The floor creaked with each footstep. He turned back at me, and motioned me to follow. "C'mon. Ain't nothing to hurt you here, with me around."

I followed suit cautiously. The inside seemed to have some mercy from the outside world. The few remaining pieces of furniture was covered in dust and plastic covers. I looked closely, and noticed that all the covers seem to have been torn. Large tears streaked the covers, as if somebody decided to be an asshole and rip stuff.

"Hey, Daniel. Give me a flashlight, will ya?" Mike asked from behind him. I nodded, and opened a backpack I had on me. There were several things inside, including two flashlights, spare batteries, two rations, a first aid kit, and a revolver. I grabbed the two flashlights, and closed the backpack.

"Here, catch." I called, as I threw one at his direction as Mike turned around. He caught it, and turned it on.

"Thanks." He huffed loudly, as he examined the walls. "Looks in better condition that I thought. Still strong form the inside."

Along the walls, was a long corridor, roughly seven feet wide. As I turned on my own flashlight, I noticed that the corridor leads to over parts of the mansion. The floor still have it's velvet colored carpet. I glanced at Mike, who was opening another door, which squeaked. In side was nothing but worn shoes and cobwebs.

"Nothing here. Must be a closet or something." he commented as he shut the door. He then looked at me and smiled, as if he had an idea just now.

"Um... yeah, have something?" I asked, tilting my head.

"Yeah. How about you search for something interesting up here and on the second floor."

I hesitated, before nodding, and pointed a finger at him. "And you?"

"Me? I'm going to see if this place has a basement. Usually all the interesting stuff are at the basement." Mike replied. "Well, I'm out to look for one. If you're having trouble, just shout." And with that, he walked down another corridor on the side. I sighed, now alone. I hesitated a bit, and walked down the corridor at the middle.

"Okay... let's see what we got here..." I whispered to myself. The floor creaked with each step I took, which made me very uneasy. I was partially afraid that the mansion will collapse thanks to our disturbance. Both walls had doors lined up, but all of them seem locked tight, as I tried very hard to open each one, to no avail. I groaned in frustration, before continuing walking towards the end of the corridor, looking for a flight of stairs. Sure enough, there was indeed one right at the end.

Besides the flight of stairs, there was a door right next to it, which was strangely open. Curiosity filled my mind, as I entered the room. The room was surprisingly large, with a worn, large bed with covers that were too torn apart. Along a wall, were several cabinets, that were dusty. I headed over to one of them, and opened one. There were some strange items there: a burred out photo, and a set of keys. I looked at both objects, confused at why they were there, but decided to take them anyways.

As I explored the other cabinets, that were disappointingly empty, I came across a broken mirror. It was cracked right at the center. I could hardly figure out my figure with it. I stared at it curiously, wondering what happened to it.

"Hmm... dunno what happened to it, but it don't matter. I got some things, and I think Mike would be ve-" I whispered as I stopped as a sound was heard.

All I could hear was scratching, as if a rattata was making a hole. I looked around, figuring out where the sound was coming from. Soon enough, I think I found the source of the sound.

The room had it's own little closet, with the door open. I cautiously approached the door, and sure enough, the scratching was louder; the source was here. With my heart pounding on my chest, I poked my head inside, and found nothing, but a small wooden board covering the back end of it.

I slowly approached the board, the scratching sound not faltering as I came closer. I hesitated, not knowing what was making these sounds, but took a deep breath, and put my hands on the board.

"Okay... one.. two..." I counted, before snatching the board. "thre-" I couldn't even finish as I heard a loud, fierce snarl erupted from a hole behind it.

"HOLY SHIT!" I shouted, falling on my back, dropping the board. I was scared real bad, as I saw a glance of a gray muzzle, before it snapped out of sight. Instincts took over me, as I promptly ran outside the closet, and out the room.

I also heard footsteps, and I panicked even more, but was slightly relieved to see Mike was running towards me, his sledgehammer ready, and with a concerned look on his face.

"There you are!" he exclaimed. "What the hell happened? I-I heard you scream, and ran up here as.." He noticed me breathing very heavily, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, you okay? If you want, we can leave this place."

I stood there for a few minutes, gasping and trying to calm down. After a deep breath, I was able to talk. "I-I.. I heard scratching coming from a blocked hole... and-and.. when I unblocked it... some.." I gasped, shivering. "Something was inside. It snarled at me, and went away." Mike nodded his head, not a look of amusement on his face.

"I see... well, it was probably a pokemon of some sort. I understand your fear. So.." Mike looked behind him, before looking back at me. "So yeah, let's get out of here. Exploring can wait. Follow me." He then went ahead, back down the corridor. I followed suit, staying as close as I can be to him.

Going down the corridor, I noticed that the walls had much less doors on them. Instead of the usual twenty of so doors, there were only a mere six. "Um.. are you sure we are going the right way?" I asked.

Mike hesitated. "Um.. I think so. Pretty certain. We should..." He paused, and stopped walking, causing me to bump into him. "Wait.. where's the door."

I looked in front of him, to see a bizarre sight: now I'm pretty sure that we entered the house from the door that was right in front of us, but now, there was only a wall. I know we're not lost, because the two halves of the door that Mike originally smashed were still there.

Mike turned back to me, just as confused as I am. "What the actual hell? Didn't we enter through this spot, Daniel?" He asked. I nodded. He turned back to the wall.

"I.. I don't know what happened." I said cautiously.

"Well neither do I." Mike replied, bringing his sledgehammer back, and dealt a large blow to the wall. We both gasped in surprise as the wall, with a delicate appearance, stood without a scratch. Considering Mike's strength, and what he did to the door earlier, that wall should have had a hole in it. Mike groaned in anger, as he took another, yielding the same result, and a third swing, which at this point, the result was predictable: nothing.

"Oh for Arceus' sake!" Mike cursed. "Let us out of here." He glanced back at me, a frustrated expression on his face.

"What should we do?" I asked nervously, careful not to make Mike take out his frustration on me. 

"Oh I'll tell you what we're going to do." He said. "We're going to find a way out of this shit hole, whatever the cost."

Then I noticed something was not right. Mike's attention seemed to have moved elsewhere. Instead of looking at me, he turned, and looked at... nothing. I was confused at what caught his eye.

"Daniel?" he asked at the floor. "What? You know a way out of here? Well you clever bastard." he grinned. "Well of course. Lead the way." and he headed off to where he was originally going.

I was starting to freak out again. Panic gripped my heart. "Wait, don't go there, Mike. There's nothing there!" But my shouts were fruitless as my friend headed off, following nothing.

I was about to follow him, when I heard another new sound. This time, it was a banging noise, coming from behind me. I turned around, and saw what the noise was.

I felt my blood run ice cold as from the room in which I was in, appeared a pair of blue, glowing eyes. It just... stared at me. There was no friendliness in those eyes. Only evidence of hunger, and with a feral feel in them.

I was too paralyzed in fear to move. I found myself staring into those eyes. After what felt like forever, I heard a voice, but... it was not Mike's or even my own. The tone was completely new to me.

" _Come_... " it whispered to me. " _Come..."_

I was about to shout at Mike for help, but I blinked first, and when I opened my eyes, those blue eyes full of hunger were gone. As if nothing was there.

At this point, I was sweating bullets. Something was out here, and it does not like our presence. But, it does not make sense that why would that thing block out the exit. Thoughts raced through my mind as I tried to figure out what this... thing's intentions are. Then, I had an idea. I know this is going to be stupid, but maybe if I went to the second floor, there would be some evidence, or better, another exit.

Without thinking, I ran across the corridor, each step causing a loud creak, as I reached the staircase. I took a deep breath, and looked up, making sure that there is nothing waiting for me. When everything looked safe, I started climbing.

Each step I took send tremors through the staircase. I grabbed onto the railing as hard as I can, prepared to hold on for dear life. One step... two step... three step. I counted how many steps I took, and also listening for any strange sounds.

As I was nearing the top, I grew more nervous. When I reached the second to last step, I heard a loud, groaning noise below me. I froze, unsure of what made that sound.

"What.. WHOA!" was all I could say, as I felt the floor collapse underneath me, slamming into the ground, causing a massive SMASH as it destroys the floor underneath it as well. I grabbed onto the rail, hugging it with both hands. Before I knew it, I was dangling from the railing, only several feet away from my death. I was panicking hard.

"OH MIKE! MIKE! MIKE!" I shouted, hoping that Mike would snap out of it, and come and help me. But no answer came. I was scared out of my mind at this point, as thoughts came to my mind. _Oh, you're going to die. Mike's dead!_

"No.. no." I whimpered, my hands sweating hard. I felt my grip loosen, as my hands were slipping from the railing. I blinked, and saw it.

My flashlight, along with the stairs, fell, so I could not see well in the darkness, but my eyes widen at what I saw. A large, gray colored, bipedal creature stood over me. It had the same blue eyes I saw earlier. I could hear it's breath rasping from within. Behind it, was a crimson mane, which just barely was visible.

The creature placed two clawed hands on my own. I did not know what I was expecting from it, but the answer was clear, when that voice spoke to me once more, only this time, it was far more hostile.

" _...Die."_ That word echoed in my mind, before I felt a sudden pain in my hands. It felt like they were on fire. I gritted my teeth, but could not hold on for long, as I cried out in pain. I looked to see that the creature's red claws were tearing into my skin, trails of blood leaking out. I looked at it's face, it's gray muzzle was grinning, showing rows of sharp, jagged teeth.

The pain grew exponentially, as it's paws were also pushing me off the railing. I couldn't take the pain anymore, and I was forced to let go, I felt gravity take control of my body, and I fell on the ground. I heard a crack, and pain suddenly emerged again, somewhere on my leg.

I screamed in pain, rolling on the rubble, trying my very best to take control of my body, but it was no use. Tears were streaking down my face. I felt myself blacking out, and that's when I noticed that my surroundings were getting fuzzy, as if an invisible mist appeared, blurring out everything.

The pain seems to be less intense, but still very painful regardless. I moaned, trying to figure out what happened. I looked around, and noticed that the staircase, to my surprise, was still intact, as if nothing had happened. The only thing that was different, was that there was a piece of railing missing. Then came the sudden realization: the staircase never collapsed. I had been pushed. But by whom? 

The pain spiked again, causing me to yell out again. "Mike! Oh Mike! Arcues! Help!" My sight blurred again, as the pain was just too much for me, and I felt myself black out.

But I was not asleep. Everything was black. I could not open my eyes, and the pain... has gone away? I was very confused.

"What's going on?" I asked, desperate to get an answer. There came none.

But then, I heard a new voice from the darkness. It was not the cold, feral voice I heard earlier, but it was not Mike's either. It was at first, whispers, but it got gradually louder. I listened hard to it.

"May 5th, 2016. I have moved into this wonderful mansion, where my new life will begin." It was a male voice, and a raspy one too. I'm guessing that the speaker is at least fifty years old. "I've grown tired from the city, and wish to live in a more isolated area. But I will not miss the interactions with others, nor the connections I've made over the years, for I have other, more loyal companions. The local pokemon here are very friendly, and welcoming to newcomers. I can get used to here. And indeed, I've made some friends already! My most notable one would have to be a little zorua that I had encountered, that was crying on my front yard. I remembered rushing out to find what's wrong. Turned out that he had a broken leg. Thankfully, I had the proper materials to fix his leg right up. Poor little fox was scared. I remembered seeing fear in his eyes, as I carried him in my arms, back inside." The voice laughed briefly, before clearing it's throat, and continued. "So I fixed him up, and gave him a cozy place to recover. I was planning on releasing him back to the wild, but after about, eh... maybe two weeks of recovery, he refused to leave, even when I gave him an opportunity to do so. Seems like we had a bond formed. He ran up to my leg, and nuzzled it. It was probably the most adorable thing I've seen. Zorua didn't want to leave, and since I wanted to have a pokemon for most of my life, I decided it would never hurt to have the little fox as my own. Long story short, Zorua and I became best friends and lived with me for some time. This is Mr. Anderson, and this marks the end of my recording."

A deadly silence followed, and my vision slowly came back. I now heard another voice.

"Daniel? Daniel? Are you okay?" He looked to see Mike standing over me, trying to get me back on my feet. As he did so, the pain quickly came back on my hands and leg.

"Ow! St-stop it, Mike!" I shouted. He let go without hesitation.

"What happened to you, mate? And- oh my Arceus.. your hands.. what happened to your hands?" I looked down to see that my hands were covered in blood- my blood.

"Ugh.. I.. was pushed." I replied weakly. Mike stared at me in disbelief.

"What? Who pushed you? I swear to Arceus, I will kill that motherfucker." He cursed. With a hand, Mike reached out to my backpack, opened it, and took out the revolver.

"Don't. Don't use that." I begged.

"Why not? Let's kill it, once and for all." Mike shouted.

"It.. it will kill you too." I groaned. "..and me."

"Over my dead body! Ain't nobody is going to kill us." He turned off the safety, and cocked the gun. "You wait here, I'm going to look for whoever decided it was a good idea to fuck with us." And with that, he stormed off, down the corridor, and back to where was heading when we first got here.

I sighed, helpless to do anything. I felt the blood still leaking out, dripping onto the carpet. My left leg was broken. I could not move it at all.

I listened hard, figuring out where Mike is now. But there is a new sound. It was not Mike's. All I heard is growling. Savage, fearless growling. The growling was soon accompanied by the voice. " _...kill... stalk.."_ It said. " _...kill... attack... kill..._ _feed..."_

Several minutes has passed, and I heard footsteps not to far away, along with Mike's voice. "Where are you?" It was moments later when the footsteps stopped. "Oh there you are.. oh my.. Arceus."

In a heartbeat, the loud sounds of things shattering, along with a _BANG, CRACK, BANG_ and I knew it was Mike firing the revolver at whatever he was attacking. Deadly silence followed. After a minute of it, I heard a huff.

"Killed you, mother- what!" I heard Mike yell. "There was nothing here! What the fu-" Mike never finished his sentence as I heard scream replace the last part. I heard more things shatter, and another gunshot go off.

I was forced to listen to Mike scream in agony, as whatever was attacking him was winning. After a few heartbeats, there stood the silence again. Then I heard something very disturbing.

I heard a crunch, a slurp, and a squelch. I hoped it was not what I think it is, but as always, I was proven wrong. The voice talked again, among the symphony of sounds.

" _Mmm.. human good... meat... good.. bones crunchy.. bring more human..."_

I felt very sick in my stomach. I tried to ignore the voice, but it keeps repeating itself, each round was with a more delighted tone. I tried to get up, adrenaline kicking in, as I ignored the pain, and stood up. I tried climbing up the stairs again, only to make a few steps, before collapsing once again. Then everything turned black.

My experience was very similar to the last one. The male voice spoke again, but this time, it was speaking about a different tale. "July sixth, 2018. Me and zoroark have been having a very close bond. He lets me groom, pet, and even bathe him. What was once a zorua, now evolved, since that training session that we did roughly a year ago. He has become quite a strong pokemon, which exceptional illusion powers. I have heard tales of zoroark's illusions, but to see them for myself.. it's nothing like the tales. It's must have been ten times better, to say the least. But yeah, zoroark has become quite strong, and protective of me.

"But I'm afraid that I can't let him protect me. I just can't bear the thought of him suffering as a result of the mistakes I've made in the past. I have made some... unwise decisions with some of the criminal organizations, most notably, Team Flare. I have betrayed them, and now they are after my hide. Hmph... damn connections. They sure do have a lot of them. It will be only a matter of time until they find me, even in such a remote location. When that time comes, I'm done for. But, I cannot let zoroark, a campaign, a friend.. or even more than a friend; to be involved with such negativity, for he has no part in it, and I see no need for him to sacrifice himself, only for Team Flare to try another attempt.

"No. I cannot bear the guilt I will have when he does so. I must get him to safety, and face Team Flare myself, and fight what whatever I have left. I'm sure zoroark will understand. I have raised the fox to be the way he is. I just hope that he will not be stuck in denial for my downfall for the rest of his life. I'll guess we'll have to see. This is Mr. Anderson, and this concludes my recording."

As the voice stopped speaking, I felt vision being restored. But, I am no longer in the corridor. Instead, I found myself to be inside a room, with a stove in front of me, and plenty of cabinets around. I looked above, and saw a large piece of granite right above my head. It turned out to be a table. Groaning, with the pain surprisingly decreased in intensity, I started to crawl my way out of the table.

That was when I felt a drop of liquid fall on my cheek. I placed a finger to it, and checked to see what it is. I froze, as I saw a crimson colored drop on the finger. It was blood.

I scrambled out of the table, determined to get out, and that's when I saw the horror.

There, lying on the table, was Mike. His eyes were still open, now lifeless. His arms were stretched back, dripping blood, which fell onto the marble colored floor. His chest and abdomen was.. just... gone. Hardly anything was left of him. If I had eaten everything, I would have just hurled it right on the spot.

"I need.. to get out." I said to myself. That's when I felt a warm breath on the back of my neck

" _No... escape.."_ I turned around to see Mr. Anderson's closest friend, zoroark. He grabbed me firmly by the shoulders, his claws digging into my skin. He proceeded to pin me down on the floor. I tried my best to wriggle out, but it was futile.

"Please.. do not kill me." I begged. I saw zoroark grin, his muzzle a bloody mess.

" _Kill... human... never get out.."_ he replied, his blue eyes digging into my soul.

"No! Please, I-I" An idea flowed into my mind. One that can perhaps save my life.

"It's Anderson, right? It's about him!" I tried to get zoroark to speak about his former owner. "He loves you." Zoroark roared in anger.

" _Human no like!"_ the fox growled. " _Human... left... alone."_

"No! He liked you... he died for you." I argued. Zoroark slashed me in the face with a hand, leaving me with a bleeding cut.

" _No.. he... would... me.. die."_ his eyes glowed, and I noticed that the scene was changing. We are no longer in the kitchen, but outside of a metal door, that was opened to reveal a staircase leading underground. I looked around, to see two figures: Zoroark, and what I think to be is Mr. Anderson, who was dressed in his black and white suit, a shotgun in his hands.

"You must hide! They will kill you too." Mr. Anderson spoke desperately. Zoroark shook his head.

" _I die.. with you."_ The dark type insisted, his eyes appear watery

"No. I cannot let you die for my mistakes." Anderson retorted. "They were mine, and mine only. You have no involvement in this."

" _But.. I'll no see.. you"_ Zoroark argued, a tear streaming down his face. Anderson used a hand to wipe it off.

"I know. But now it's time to man up. This house will be your property now. You can do whatever you wish with it." Anderson smiled. "And nobody will know about it. You'll be safe out here, once I'm gone. And don't worry." He gave the fox a kiss on the forehead. "We'll see each other again. Sooner than you'll realize."

There was a loud crash, and footsteps could be heard, as well as two voices.

"Alright, search the area. Make sure the traitor is dead." a feminine voice said.

"Rodger that. Team alpha, stay alert. Don't allow him to escape." a male voice replied.

Anderson ushered zoroark down the stairs. "Now go! Lock the door, and I'll hide it. You will be safe down there. Come out when the coast is clear." He waved a final goodbye to the dark type.

Redundantly, zoroark slid the door shut. Anderson made sure that that locks were in place, and slid in the cover, which was a fake wall looking exactly like the real one. After securing the wall, he grabbed his shotgun, and ran out of sight.

The scene faded, and we were back in the kitchen, zoroark was no longer pinning me down. He offered a paw, and I took it and I was brought up.

" _You see?"_ He asked. I nodded

"But... still. He never wanted you to die. Team Flare would only try again if you sacrificed yourself." I argued, trying to reason with this distressed pokemon.

Zoroark sighed. " _Maybe.. right."_ He held his paws to his eyes. " _Just.. want to be.. with master_." The dark type looked like he was about to cry, so I hugged him.

He yelped in surprise, but quickly accepted the embrace, and returned it. I felt his watery tears being absorbed into my clothing. I now understand why this pokemon was so hostile. It was not because he wanted to be, but because he was lost, and conflicted.

"Shh... it's okay." I softly said, stroking his matted mane. "While I cannot forgive you for... taking away my closest friend, at least I can understand your motives."

Zoroark released himself, and gazed at me, a small smile forming on his face. " _I think... human.. bad. But you... good."_ But then shame washed over his expression. " _Me sorry.. for.. killing-"_

I placed a hand over his mouth, and silenced him. "I understand."

The illusion fox shook his head. " _No. Me cannot live... as killer.."_ he whimpered, sadness taking over him. " _I need.. time alone.."_ and with that, zoroark charged past me, and slammed into a barricaded window, shattering the wooden bars with one go. He staggered a bit, but regained balance, and ran off into the wilderness.

I looked at the sky. The moon was setting, and the dim orange lights signaled the beginning of dawn. I jumped out of the window, and welcomed the fresh, cool breeze. After limping a few paces forward, I found a patch of grass, and sat on it. I examined my body: my hands stopped bleeding, my leg still hurts, but at least I can still move.

I stared into the rising sun, as I tried to piece together what happened. But also, my thoughts were on zoroark; where he has gone, what will he do next, and what will his fate be. All such thoughts were overwhelming to me at the moment.

"What a world we live in." Was all that I could say.


End file.
